Blu-ray hasn’t been around very long, but long enough for the process
to already have undergone changes great enough that some early players
simply cannot handle some of the features of various discs. In this
case, to coincide with the release of the third “Pirates of the
Caribbean” epic, Disney released the first two in extras-laden,
two-disc sets. At hand is “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl,” the first movie. No one expected a great deal more than a
fun movie based on the Disneyland ride, but it unexpectedly turned out
to be a treasure trove of eccentric performances, gorgeous location
work, superb production design—all adding up to a surprisingly
entertaining and intelligent movie.
This Blu-Ray DVD has almost too many extras. The second disc includes
about 12 hours of them in two primary sections: “An Epic at Sea”
consists of a long roster of relatively brief documentaries which
feature ...

On the surface, “Phone Booth” had the story conceit and the major star
power to make a good movie. Add to that the seasoned directing of Joel
Schumacher (who has several thrillers under his belt) and the scripting
talent of Larry Cohen (author many television and movie scripts). In
the end, though, it fails to meet some basic criteria for good
storytelling and presentation.
The video and audio aspects for the film are amazing. The HD
presentation is outstanding. Images take shape on the screen with
vibrant color and hard edges. A three-dimensional quality about the
film seems like viewers could just pull themselves into the scene with
the actors. With the Lossless audio, the sounds are sharp and clear,
and the surround sound system works perfectly. A movie as loaded with
dialogue as this one is requires a stunning presentation to draw the
jaded moviegoer’s attention, but “Phone Booth” delivers.
Schumacher directs with ...

“Crank” was touted as an adrenaline-pounding thrill ride made expressly
by action fans for action fans. On that level, perhaps, the movie
succeeds, offering frantic pacing, whip-crack dialogue, and a high body
count. Given the premise and the action starpower behind it, the movie
could have appealed to a wider segment of the audience. However, the
writers/directors remained solely focused on delivering a thrill ride
that audiences haven’t seen for a while.
Action pictures usually have paper-thin plots, and “Crank” was no
different in that regard. Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is a hitman
working for the mob. Of course, he does a little side action now and
again, too, picking up contract work for murder off the radar of his
employer. It’s one of those side jobs that goes sour now and puts him
in the cross hairs of Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo), a scheming drug
lord wanting to cut himself a bigger ...

Many people were intensely curious about “Casino Royale,” the most
recent James Bond movie, when it was released theatrically late last
year. But except for some diehards who bristled at the idea of a colder
and blond 007, most people were pleased by the movie. Certainly I was.
In terms of the movie itself, based on watching this brand-new Blu-Ray
disc, there’s little to add to that review in terms of discussing
“Casino Royale” as a movie. The film is a bit lopsided—there are two
sensational action scenes in the first half, then none until the
finale, set in Venice. At 144 minutes, the movie is probably somewhat
too long; this is not helped by seeming to end completely about fifteen
minutes before it actually does. And it passed my notice altogether the
first time around that a bit of dialogue brings up a question, even a
concept, that none of the ...

Decades ago, the idea of apes evolving and supplanting the human race
was a radical idea filled with all kinds of social implications. When
Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel “Planet of the Apes” was published in
English, 20th Century-Fox won the movie rights, and a film appeared in
1968. It was phenomenally successful and generated a series of sequels
and a TV series. It was embraced by many groups, from race relations
representatives to animal activists. It seemed everyone could find a
correlation to whatever they wanted to push in their own interests. A
lot of viewers just liked the science fictional alternate-earth
scenario that was so cool.
French writer Pierre Boulle, who occasionally dabbled in science
fiction, included a twist at the end that still hasn’t been shown in
films or television.
In the original movie, the stark image of the Statue of Liberty stands
out. That image, or many like it, has shown ...